


Eavesdrop

by Jeanvalvernairdienjoleponius



Series: Fablehaven Ship Fest 2019 [1]
Category: Fablehaven Series - Brandon Mull
Genre: Fablehaven Ship Fest 2019, Gen, he's sad but it's okay, it's not a ship though it's very platonic, spoilers for books 1-4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-17 12:37:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17560529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jeanvalvernairdienjoleponius/pseuds/Jeanvalvernairdienjoleponius
Summary: Kendra accidentally overhears Seth crying and decides to do something about it.





	Eavesdrop

Kendra had never really minded the fact that she and Seth shared a room. Being in the attic was fun. It meant that she could see him all the time, and even if he was annoying sometimes, he was the most important person to her.

 

Unfortunately, it also meant that sometimes she would hear something that she didn’t mean to hear. 

 

Today was one of those times.

 

She’d walked up to the door of the attic earlier than Seth had expected, and had heard the sound of crying.

 

Her brother? The bravest person she knew? The kid who’d taken on a revenant with nothing but a flashlight, a courage potion, and a pair of gloves? The kid who’d walked into a room full of zombies and had stayed unafraid? The kid who had faced dragons, demons, ghosts, and almost certain death many times over? 

 

He wasn’t supposed to cry like that.

 

Not alone, at least. 

 

Kendra had paused with her fingers hovering inches away from the door handle, but was now reconsidering whether or not she should enter the room. After thinking it over for another minute or so, and not hearing the sound of crying fading, she knew what she needed to do.

 

She snuck her way down the stairs, putting some milk and chocolate into a small pot, stirring it together in her best approximation of the way that Lena would have made hot chocolate for them when they’d first met. 

 

She knew she couldn’t get it perfect, but she also knew that she could try.

 

She brought the hot chocolate up on a tray, listening closely—he was still crying—and knocking on the door.

 

Seth sniffled loudly, and she heard his footsteps walking up to the door. He didn’t open it.

 

“What do you want?” He sounded angry.

 

“I made you some hot chocolate. Can you open up the door?”

 

“Give me a minute.”

 

There was the sound of shuffling, the sound of a tissue being drawn, and another sniffle or two. When the door opened, Kendra saw that Seth’s eyes were red, but she didn’t comment on it; rather, she just presented the tray with the hot chocolate.

 

Seth picked up one of the mugs, his hands visibly shaking as he drank. After the first sip, he closed his eyes and kept drinking until it was finished. 

 

“You can take mine, too, if you want.” She suggested softly. Seth offered her an empty smile, nodding his head and drinking her drink as well. 

 

After he was satisfied, he wiped his mouth off, thanking her quietly and pushing her towards the door. Kendra shook her head, setting her tray down and looking at him. He sat down on his bed, turning his face away from her, and staying entirely silent.

 

Curious, she sat down next to him and waited. 

 

Kendra sat, listening to the sound of his breathing, her eyes closed. His breaths started out fine, but after what she guessed was a few minutes, it started getting more labored. She could feel him shaking as he sat on the bed, and she opened her eyes to put her hand on his knee. The moment her hand made contact, he flinched and took a deep breath in, turning away from her.

 

“Lena.” He stated softly.

 

“What?”

 

“Lena and Coulter, both of them died because of me. I’m the reason we had to free Muriel—both of the last knots were my fault. It’s my fault she released Bahumat. I’m the idiot who healed Graulas. I trusted him, and he killed Coulter. I took on the revenant and because of my dumb decision, the shadow plague got started. I trusted Errol, and he betrayed me. I trusted Vanessa, and she betrayed me. I trusted Graulas, and he betrayed me. I trusted the Sphinx, and Gavin, and everyone, and they all betrayed me. The only person—the only people I can trust is my family, and sometimes I can’t even trust them. I feel like I can’t do anything right—I can’t trust anyone, I can’t make any decisions, and I don’t have any friends that I can tell about any of this whole… everything! I can’t tell anyone anything.”

 

Kendra’s jaw dropped. “Seth, I understand where you’re coming from, but you’re so wrong. You’re so wrong! It’s not… a character flaw to trust people. It’s not your fault that the people around you let you down so often. It’s not a bad thing that you instinctively like people. You are one of the strongest people—no. You are the single strongest person I’ve ever met. Stronger than Patton, stronger than Grandma and Grandpa, stronger than  _ everyone.  _ If you hadn’t let Muriel free, we never would have the Hugo we have today. If you hadn’t taken down the revenant, we never would have had Warren and Errol would have taken the artifact. If we hadn’t had the shadow plague, Lena never would have left the pond again. Despite the tragedy, despite the fear, despite everything, you’re still the brother I love, the coolest kid I’ve ever met, a shadow charmer with literal,  _ actual  _ superpowers, and you have the biggest heart of anyone around. I don’t know what I would do without you, Seth.”

 

Seth choked on a sob, throwing himself into a hug with Kendra. His arms wrapped around her, body shaking as he cried once more. She held him as tightly as she possibly could, knowing what it was like to be crushed by the weight of her own decisions, knowing what it was like to have loved and to have lost, knowing that nobody deserved it less than Seth did.

 

No matter how strong he pretended to be, no matter how little he pretended to care, his greatest weakness was that he cared too much.

 

He loved too much.

 

She loved him too much to ever tell him, and she knew that he was never the type of person to express something like that, but that was okay with her. 

 

“Kendra… thank you. Even though you’re a bit of a know it all, and even though you’re, like, a nerd, or whatever, you’re super cool in my book.”

 

He pulled away from the hug, wiping more tears away from his eyes. 

 

“You’re Fairykind, you’re very kind, you read all those important books… you’re like a, a, a modern-day Patton, in your own way. You’re brave and you’re sweet and you’re talented and you’re probably my favorite sister. You’re at least my second favorite.”

 

Kendra smiled at him. 

 

“I love you, Kendra.”

 

“I love you too, Seth.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Erin Lynne for the idea, and thanks to Amy for coming up with this event and running it! We really need more content and I hope this catches on a lot because I'm enjoying it.


End file.
